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The fight over Greenland between the United States and Denmark might be resolving itself peacefully, at least when it comes to defense.
Quiet ongoing U.S. talks with Denmark aim to gain access to three additional defense areas in Greenland, extending the American footprint beyond the existing Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base) on the island’s north. Negotiations are headed by officials from the State Department and the White House—not military officials—but the content is closely coordinated with U.S. defense staff.
The update was shared by Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, head of U.S. Northern Command, during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington on Thursday, March 19.
Guillot described Denmark and Greenland as “very cooperative” and “very eager to discuss ways to move forward to improve our defense capabilities.” He said all U.S. requests have been met and that any expansion would fall within the framework of the long-standing 1951 defense agreement between the United States and Denmark.
The agreement was negotiated under the NATO framework (Denmark joined NATO in 1949, bringing Greenland into the alliance), replacing a 1941 wartime defense pact and giving the United States broad rights to build and operate military facilities while explicitly recognizing Danish sovereignty. It allows the two governments to jointly designate “defense areas” that the U.S. can establish and operate when Denmark cannot do so alone, without paying compensation to Denmark. Denmark retains the right to use the areas in cooperation with the U.S. and preserves its “sovereignty … and the natural right of the competent Danish authorities to free movement everywhere in Greenland.”
The agreement was amended and modernized in 2004 to reflect Greenland’s changed status (from colony to self-governing part of Denmark) and improved local cooperation, with all three flags now flying over the Pituffik base. The framework remains flexible enough to accommodate new U.S. requests for ports, airfields, or other capabilities in the Arctic without renegotiating the underlying treaty.
The admission by Guillot that the 1951 agreement is sufficient for the desired American expansion reflects what Danish authorities have said from the beginning—meaning President Trump would not, as he has said, need to “own” Greenland. His stated position, however, has been that ownership provides stronger, more permanent defense than leases or agreements.
Marc Jacobsen, associate professor at the Department of Strategy and War Studies at the Danish Defense Academy, told Danish daily Berlingske, “Denmark has made it clear that the U.S. had 17 bases in Greenland during the Cold War and chose to cut it down to one—and that the 1951 agreement allows the Americans to do a huge amount in Greenland. The general is basically saying that a new agreement is not necessary.”
Jacobsen said Guillot’s statements showed “good communication between senior military officials” in a way that is “positive for Denmark.”
The exact locations the U.S. would like access to have not been revealed. Jacobsen suggested that the deep-water port of Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland; Kangerlussuaq (formerly Søndre Strømfjord)—where large aircraft can land; and a deep-water port near Pituffik would be good candidates.
While the defense negotiations appear to be going smoothly, Trump’s other reasons for wanting to make Greenland part of the U.S. are still in play. Greenland is believed to hold enormous untapped oil and gas potential—an estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable 31 billion barrels of oil equivalent in some assessments (comparable to total U.S. proven crude reserves at the time). While Greenland banned new oil/gas exploration in 2021 for environmental reasons, melting ice could make reserves more accessible, and U.S. control could reopen or accelerate development for American energy companies.
